


Here, Let Me Help

by actualbabe



Series: Chicago [1]
Category: New Girl
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Canon Compliant, Chicago, F/M, Mini Fic, Missing Scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 03:59:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13379700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actualbabe/pseuds/actualbabe
Summary: The kiss meant something to her, it had to. Otherwise she wouldn’t have flown all the way out to Chicago in March for the funeral of a guy she barely knew, or put on a cheesy Elvis costume just to make his ma happy. But then again, she’s Jess.two missing scenes that we should've seen in Chicago





	Here, Let Me Help

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kayleigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayleigh/gifts).



There’s this weird little get-together kinda thing after the funeral. Nick stands awkwardly in the corner of the living room, nursing a beer and zoning out as two of his ma’s friends from church chatter about something that’s ultimately meaningless. Bonnie is sitting on the couch in the middle of the room, staring blankly over the crowd and chewing absentmindedly on a stick of nicotine gum. People keep periodically coming up to sit next to her and hug her or hold her hand while they apologize for her loss. It makes Nick feel a little guilty, cause he’s always been shit at things like this, he doesn’t know what to do or say so he just ends up on the outskirts as people like Jess who are far more skilled at the whole feelings thing swoop in to save the day. 

He finishes the last drink of his beer and excuses himself, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to get some space to think, where people won’t keep patting him on arm as they tell him to keep his head up. Nick yanks at the knot of his loosened tie as he slips out onto the back porch. His breath fogs up in the freezing air and he shivers in his suit jacket as he drops his empty bottle into the recycling bin. 

He’s joined a few minutes later by his great aunt Myrtle, who’s wearing a fur coat that’s seen better days. She nods at him and offers up a cigarette, which he declines. Myrtle nods again, lights up her own and takes a long drag. They stand in silence for a short while, staring out at the empty yard and pointedly ignoring the heavy silence between the them. After a few minutes Nick finally gives up on the freezing cold and decides to head back into the warmth of the house. Maybe he can manage to sneak up to his room without anyone noticing he’s disappeared.

Jess is in the kitchen, still wearing that ridiculous white Elvis getup. Nick lingers in the doorway and watches her struggle to knock a few ice cubes out of the ancient plastic tray they keep in the freezer. He can’t help the slight grin that tugs at the corner of his mouth at the sight of her determined pout.

“You ditched the toupee,” he remarks, crossing his arms and leaning against the fridge.

Her head jerks up in surprise, and Jess smiles when she realizes he’s standing right beside her. She’s got her hair all piled up in a bun on top of her head, her bangs poofed out to frame the soft curves of her face. Jess quickly glances down to look at what she’s wearing and lets out a stilted laugh. 

“Yeah, it was pretty itchy.” She absentmindedly raises her hand up to brush a stray lock of hair behind her ear. 

Nick hums in understanding. “Here,” he offers, gesturing to the tray.

She sighs and passes it over. “It hates me for some reason.”

“Nah,” he takes it from her and then hits it hard against the counter. There’s a muffled thud and a few cubes of ice rattle out of the container. “It’s finicky sometimes.”

Their fingertips brush against each other as he hands her the tray, his hands still slightly frozen from standing around outside, and the slight contact sends a line of fire up his arm. Nick swallows nervously as he stares into her bright blue eyes. Jess holds his gaze for a few seconds, takes in a sharp inhale and her cheeks flush slightly. Nick can feel his heart start to beat a little faster when his gaze gets caught on the bright pink of her lips.

It’d be so easy to close the gap between them, to pull her into his arms and kiss her again, just like he did weeks ago. The kiss meant something to her, it  _ had _ to. Otherwise she wouldn’t have flown all the way out to Chicago in March for the funeral of a guy she barely knew, or put on a cheesy Elvis costume just to make his ma happy. But then again, she’s  _ Jess _ . She’s sweet and has a huge heart and just genuinely cares about people. It baffles him how she’s able to be so selfless, so brave. 

Jess clears her throat and ducks her head. “Thanks,” she mutters, pulling the tray out of his grip and quickly dropping a few pieces of ice into her glass. 

“Yeah,” Nick says dumbly, his mind reeling. 

She chews nervously at her bottom lip as she fills her glass with tap water before breezing quickly out of the kitchen. Nick stands there a while after she leaves, still holding onto the tray and staring down at the slightly sticky linoleum floor. 

He’s an idiot. What else is new?

\---

Jess digs through the kitchen junk drawer that evening, trying to find a pair of scissors that will actually cut through this dumb sequin-covered spandex.  _ “Ah ha _ ,” she mutters underneath her breath when she finally unearths a pair from the mess. She tucks her folded pajama set beneath her arm and heads down the hall to the bathroom. 

She pushes open the door and lets out a squeak of surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Nick gives her an unimpressed look and shoves his toothbrush into the side of his mouth. “Jamie’sh hogging the upstairsh bathroom,” he answers. His mouth is full of toothpaste and when he talks it makes little specks of foam fly out and land on the mirror. “What’sh that for?” He nods at the pair of scissors she’s holding.

“Oh! Um...” Jess stammers and fiddles with the pair of scissors in her hands. “I uh, couldn’t get the costume off. The zipper got stuck or something. So, scissors.” She shrugs and snips them in the air to demonstrate her point.

He raises an eyebrow in amusement and leans over the sink to rinse out his mouth. Nick carelessly tosses his toothbrush onto the counter where it lands with a soft clatter. “Let me try,” he says, gesturing for her to come towards him.

Jess’ heart leaps up into her throat. She swallows nervously and steps into the bathroom, the tile floor cold against her bare feet. She sets her bundle of pajamas beside Nick’s abandoned toothbrush. Her blood is rushing in her ears as she looks up at him, trying not to hyperventilate. Nick twirls his finger and Jess hesitantly spins around, pulling her hair over her shoulder so it’s not in the way of the zipper.

The tips of his fingers brush over the skin of her neck, and it’s just like when they were in the kitchen this afternoon. A shiver runs all the way down to her toes, and Jess takes a shaky breath and tightens her grip on the scissors. Nick tugs at the fabric of the collar and then slowly pulls the zipper down, his knuckles trailing over the ridges of her spine. The zipper gets caught on the fabric about midway down, and he rests one of his hands on the small of her back as he attempts to pull it free. His hand almost spans the entire width of her back, which is hot in a way that Jess hadn’t even really thought about before. 

“It’s stuck,” Nick says, his voice a touch lower than usual. 

“Yeah,” Jess replies, breathless. 

Nick clears his throat. The sound echoes in the silent room. “Can I have the, uh...”

She passes him the scissors and glares at him over her shoulder. “Be careful.”

“Yeah.” He chuckles and takes them from her hand.

Jess huffs and turns her head to stare at the shower curtain. “Don’t cut me or anything.”

“I won’t.”

“And watch out for my bra. I like this one.”

Nick’s fingers flex against the stretchy material of her jumpsuit. He’s so close that Jess can hear the catch of his breath. “Okay,” he mutters. “Okay, okay.”

The metal of the scissor blades slide against her skin as Nick carefully snips the fabric loose. There’s the soft click as he sets the scissors down on the counter and then he tugs at the zipper again. It easily slips down the rest of the way, revealing her mostly bare back to him. There’s a rush of cold air that sends another shiver down Jess’ spine, but it could also be due to the way Nick’s hands linger on her waist, his thumbs pressing into the muscles low on her back. 

“There.” His voice is pitched low and Jess can feel his breath on the back of her neck. Her toes curl against the tiled floor.

“Thanks,” she turns back to face him. 

Nick’s hands fall down to his sides, but he doesn’t step away from her. They’re so close, a hair's breadth away from being pressed up against each other. Jess feels like she’s in a daze. Everything about Nick makes her feel that way lately. He’ll just  _ look _ at her and she finds herself struggling to focus. He’s just so... so...  _ Nick _ . It drives her crazy.

She’s not quite sure who makes the first move. Maybe it was the way she looked at his lips and bit down on her own lower lip. Or maybe it was the way the back of his hand brushed up against her wrist, sending that now-familiar spark all the way up her arm. It doesn’t really matter which way it happens, because the important thing is that it  _ happens. _ One moment they’re standing in each other’s space in the downstairs bathroom of Nick’s childhood home and the next Nick’s lips are pressed to hers. Somewhere a million miles away the scissors clatter to the floor. Jess’ eyelids flutter shut, too busy being swept off her feet to care.

_ This doesn’t mean anything _ , she thinks as she kisses him back.

_ He’s just in grief _ , she thinks as she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him into her embrace.

_ We shouldn’t be doing this _ , she thinks as she slides her tongue up against his.

_ He’s going to regret this later _ , she thinks as she moans against his mouth as his warm, rough hands explore the bare skin of her back.

They kiss until they run out of air, and then they kiss a while longer still. Jess feels almost dizzy, but she’s not sure how much of that is from not breathing and how much is the heady effect of being kissed by Nick Miller. He tastes like toothpaste and smells like beer and he kisses her like they’re in a damn fairytale. Jess reluctantly pulls away to take a gasping breath and Nick chases after her lips, his hand firm against the small of her back as he kisses her so deeply that she sees stars.

Jess finally breaks off the kiss for real, presses her palms flat against his chest and holds him back from leaning in again and stealing her breath away. “Nick,” she says. She can barely recognize her own voice.

“Jess,” he whispers back, pressing his forehead against hers. Nick kisses her again, short and sweet.  _ “Jess.” _

_ “Nick,”  _ she kisses him in return, trying to remember why they stopped kissing.

“You’re in the guest bedroom, right?” He sounds absolutely wrung out, and Jess shivers when he slips his fingers underneath the band of her bra to stroke the skin there.

“Uh huh.” She bunches the fabric of his shirt up in her hand, the other sliding into the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Do you...”

“I...” Jess sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. She’s spent hours and hours agonizing over this, weighing the pros and cons and trying to find the best solution. But now she can’t seem to think of even one point from either side. 

Nick’s eyes are dark as he stares at her. It makes Jess so twirly that she thinks her insides might be melting. There’s nothing she wants more than to lead Nick back to the guest room and make him fulfill all the wild fantasies she’s been having about him lately. 

“We have a flight early tomorrow,” she says instead. 

He nods and takes a step away from her, and she immediately regrets choosing the option that means he’s no longer touching her. “You’re right,” Nick says, a dark look coming over his features, almost like he’s disappointed in himself. He takes another step away.

Jess reaches out on a whim and grabs his wrist. Nick looks at her in surprise. “I- I want to,” she admits softly.

Nick stares at her for a long moment, like he’s trying to process what she just said. “Me too.”

“Later.” She squeezes his wrist.

“Soon.” He squeezes her fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (this is technically a stand-alone, but the next chapter is a smutty continuation)

**Author's Note:**

> check me out on [tumblr!](http://actualbabe.tumblr.com/) :)


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